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Three Best Practices For Engaging Audiences

2/13/2019

I'm often asked, how do you engage your audience? It starts with a passion for your topic. But even if you have that nailed, a PowerPoint with a bullets isn't going to cut it.

When you speak to an audience you are part domain expert and part entertainer. You have to be, especially if you want your message to be remembered.

At many of the events I speak at there are all types of speakers. From professional keynotes who can guarantee a fun learning experience to association members who volunteered to run a breakout for the first time. And do you know what they all have in common? Hint - it's in the first paragraph of this post. It's passion - speakers are there because they deeply believe in what they want to share with the audience. They have something to say and they want to say it.

Passion is essential. It's the fuel for a speaker. And believe it or not, it's what the audience is longing for too. One of the best secrets in public speaking is to realize that your audience is wanting to get inspired, to learn, to be moved. That's why they are there.

Audiences want to embrace your passion completely. Remember that if you're planning to speak at an event. It will make it easier for you when you take the stage. It's a simple formula, speakers want to share their passion and audiences want to embrace it.

But passion alone isn't always enough to engage audiences. Passion sets the stage for a speaker and allows him or her to get in the proper head space to take the stage. But it takes more than that to really engage audiences. Here are three best practices I follow to deliver my passion in a way that engages audiences.

[Watch the video: How Chance Favors The Prepared In Sales]

Three best practices for engaging audiences:

Create a connection with the audience through a shared experience. [In the video, I connect with audience by telling a memorable story about being a parent and making a seemingly ridiculous promise to my son. All within the recognizable setting of a baseball stadium.]
Associate learnings with physical objects or tangible props. [In the video, I achieve this by showing the audience the actual baseball that was caught at the baseball game.]
Make your lesson memorable through story and a clear takeaway. [In the video, this was the lesson that chance favors the prepared – I take the audience through my journey of how I increased my chances of catching a baseball for my son.]

In closing, there is a tremendous amount of satisfaction for both the speaker and the audience when passion is shared and engagement is created.

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Three Best Practices For Engaging Audiences

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